The Fading Tide
by SnakeTheFox
Summary: Basically, I got bored and took a few hours to think up a fanfic for a game I play, Infantry. Note that I don't know MUCH about the Official storylinebackground, so forgive any factual inaccuracies.


Prologue: It was another brisk morning on SP-361. Any Normal Marine would be half-frozen at what must have been -20 Degrees Faranhiet outside. But this, this was one of the few good days, one of the few in which sunlight touched the surface of this barren, crater riddled wasteland. We were asked, or rather, Ordered by Titan Command to travel here. Supposedly, we were here to investigate the possible construction of mining colonies, because of the planets high "unspecified" mineral concentrations. That was three weeks ago, and we've heard nothing from Titan Command since. Some of the younger marines speculate that Titans loss of the three Outer rim planets caused a Massive withdrawal or even full on evacuation of this solar system. Of course, such is not true. Ask any high ranking Officer on board, and they'll tell you,"Its simply a matter of priority, Titan Command doesn't have time to check up on trivial little explorations anymore". All of which sounds plausible, and we believed it, that is, we believed it up until we found out what it was Titan wanted us to find on this rock.

The Emergency Siren blared through the smoke and gas that Intoxicated the Sleeping quarters. As though the Siren weren't enough, I could hear the Buzzing of heavy machine guns ricocheting off our starboard hull. We were under attack. A quick glance out of the Living quarters observation window told me enough, it told me this was serious. I counted at least 20 troops armed with standard Kuchler Mk.VII Energy Carbines. A force to be reckoned with. Being a Marine, and even worse, one of the rank of Private, made it my and about 15 others job to fight off the intruders, on the ground, without the protection of our ship. I ran as fast as I could to the Armory, ducking and dodging others as they ran to what ever there station might be. Making it to the Armory was not easy, as while making it there I was knocked off my feet twice by what must have been 120mm HE striking the hull. I quickly grabbed my Maklov A6 and, with 10 fellow marines following behind me, made it to the Teleportation pads.

The moment I stepped through, I knew it was a fight for my life. At least 4 marines were vaporized upon landing on the planets surface, and two more were heavily wounded by flanking Machine gun positions previously unknown to anyone on board. I quickly took aim at two approaching enemies. I shot, and took down one with a quick three round burst. The other, quite surprised, sprayed what must have been his whole 20 round clip off in my direction, but to no avail. I quickly switched to full auto fire and sprayed about 15 rounds off at him. Some must have hit, because, even over the drone of our ships hoverpads and the constant shrieking sound of shells buzzing over my head I could Still hear the shrill scream when he fell. "Thats two" I said to myself while simultaneously reloading my Assault Rifle. I was so caught up in the rush I forgot the 4 others who survived the jump with me. I glanced over to see the two medics and two marines who survived attending the two wounded. It was at this moment a great pain struck my back. I rolled over moaning to see a Jump Trooper, about 100 feet out, had pegged me in my back with a weak but none the less lethal energy rifle. I quickly fired off a few rounds to send him dodging, which would give me time to use my packed steron kit. By much luck, two rounds hit his Jump pack, sending him into a maze of lupity-loops and backflips before exploding violently about 20 feet above my head.

The event was short lived however, I sat, awestruck in the crater I was currently hiding in, as three Black Type 2 missile Corvettes sped out from behind a mountain, and headed right at our position. I soon realized however, that they weren't heading for us, but rather our Command Ship. They fired what seemed to be Hundreds of Firehawk missiles at our ship, impacting violently as the ground shook from the massive impact. The ship had no time to retaliate, it sped forward, perhaps in a final act to escape, before plummeting down to the planet, exploding in what must have been the biggest explosion I had ever seen. Were I and my fellow marines not kept up in the crater we were, the explosion most likely would have incinerated us all. Fire rushed overhead like a river of plasma. It was at that moment it all hit me. That was our only ride off this rock. We were stranded.

All of the enemy units surrounding us had been vaporized in the explosion, and those that weren't, including the 3 Black missile Corvettes, left after the explosion. I quickly called out to see how many of my fellow marines survived the explosion. To my astonishment, 5, including a recently healed Heavy Gunner, stood through the smoke and ash that engulfed the hillside craters we were taking cover in. Both Sergeant McGregor and Corporal Bedford, the two ranking marines in our outfit, had been killed in combat with the enemy. This left me, three other Privates, and two medics. No one was sure as to who would be in charge. "I was McGregor's second choice for promotion, I'll lead" Said one, "Nonono, I've been active in this unit for 2 YEARS, I've far more combat experience than anyone here" Said the Heavy Gunner. Through all the commotion and arguing, a voice seemed to stand above the rest, "I'll do it" Said what looked to be one of the medics. Both the Heavy Gunner and Marine Laughed in unison. But before either of them could let out a word, the man spoke again, "I've maps and GPS footage of the Geography of this planet, And I know where the nearest settlement is" he said so as everyone could hear him.

As he moved closer, it became apparent he wasn't a medic at all, but an Infiltrator, a stealth commando of sorts. I was still curious about one thing though; "Whats with the yellow flak vest" I asked, as normally only medics would wear such garb. "I figured the Teth's wouldn't find as much fun in taking down a medic". "Teth's?" I asked", "Tethys Consortium" He answered with a grin "They've had interest in this planet for a while". "I don't understand, what would they want with a little planet on the outer rim?" I asked hastily. "We'll talk about all this later" he said picking up his Particle Accelerator, "Right now, we need to find cover, they'll send scouts looking for survivors once they report back". Without objection, the whole ragtag unit made haste across the barren wasteland.

The planet was home to many different kinds of flora and fauna, ranging from small toad-like creatures to huge Behemoths that looked like woolly Mammoths. We made it to what looked to be a suitable cave by sunset to rest in for the night. Which was saying a lot, as nights on SP-361 lasted 48 hours. We set up the TWU (Thermal Warming Unit) in the center of the cave, decided when each individuals watch time would be, and those who didn't get picked first sat around the TWU and rested. It had been a long day. I turned to my left to ask the as of yet Unnamed Infiltrator to fill me in on Tethys Consortium's role in all this, but to my astonishment, he was already fast asleep.

END PART 1

PART 2

"SHIT!" I screamed as I and four others jumped out of our make-shift beds to the sound of Particle Accelerator. Half Armored, I grabbed my Maklov A6 and ran out of the cave, expecting a full on attack. There, on the side of the hill overlooking our cave, I saw our Commando friend. "What in gods name do you think you're doing!" I asked, but to no reply. I ran up the hill and grabbed his shoulder, he leaned over and unplugged what seemed to be some sort of Archaic Music device from his helmets audio antenna. "What" he asked in a half confused, half smug tone. "What the hell do you think you're doing, do you want to wake up the whole damn Tethys army!" I yelled, louder than I would have liked. Obviously offended, he replied, "I'm catching us breakfast. Those rations wont last us any more than 24 hours, tops" He said, pointing out to a barren plain, revealing what looked to be 4 dead deer. "Kacarop" He said, "They make good burgers".

I and a few fellow marines assisted in carrying the dead, and to my astonishment very lightweight animals back to camp. The Commando had already succeeded in making a makeshift grill from some metal pylons, a ventilation grate from the destroyed Command ship and our TWU. "Here" he said, tossing me a chain Knife, "Cut them into sections separating the legs, vital organs and fur. Throw the rest away". I grunted, but proceeded to cut up the already half-cooked mammals. The Particle Accelerator left a burnt hole in the side of the mammals big enough to fit my head in. "So, whats your name" I asked while cutting the legs off the bleeding animal. "PFC Warren" He replied in a emotionless, half-baked tone. This conversation was going nowhere fast, so I proceeded to finish cutting the mammal. Upon finishing I proceeded to clean and repair my trusty Maklov A6, which became slightly damaged after the Command ships explosion. About an hour later, it was time to eat. Warren called all of us out with an almost worried haste. We each sat down cross legged on the ground in front of the Blast door and standard issue MRE plates, the "Cakorop" or whatever it was called looked good, especially after what must have been 20 pounds of fur was taken off of it. Everyone sat down and took off there helmets to eat, except Warren, who took an extra second before taking off his...or rather, hers.

Everyone sat in a silent but tense pose. Warren, obviously expecting such a reaction, continued to eat, paying no mind to the silence that ensued. Everyone else, soon, too took to eating. After the meal everyone went back to there activity's without saying a word. I stayed however, "So, quite a little surprise you just popped on us" I said, "The mission hasn't changed" She replied in the still dry, emotionless tone. I left without a word. This was going to be a Long 48 hours.

End Part 2

Part 3

Bullets flew overhead like a river of metal. I dodged to the left, then to the right, fired off 10 rounds, and took cover. RPGs Impacted to my left, I jumped, barely keeping both my legs attached. Two Grizzly Mk.II Battle tanks arose on the ridge, letting loose what must have been hundreds of rounds at my position. I quickly took cover, and during a break in their suppressive fire, fired off my last LAW, impacting the left Grizzly with an Intense but quick Explosion. Enemy reinforcements poured in, from the left, and now the right, and now... all around me. Shells rushed at me from all directions. I closed my eyes.

I awoke. What a nightmare. I took off my under armor, which turned into an oven from all the sweat. One of the medics on watch rushed over to see if I was ok. "You Alright?!" He asked in a hasty worried tone. "I'm fine, just a nightmare" I replied. "Well damn, I thought you were having a seizure, hahah" He said in a panting, still worried tone. I looked around to see that all of my fellow marines had left. "Where the hell is Warren and the crew" I asked. "Um...well you see...they kinda, well they left about an hour ago to investigate a Mining Community west of here" He said. "What!?, and they didn't think it important to tell ME of all this?" I yelled. I quickly grabbed my Maklov A6 and ran to the cave entrance, "Stay here and wait for my return" I yelled back at the medic, eating some of the leftover meat. I quickly ran west of the cave, traveling by maps Warren left behind should they lose the ones they have.

Within a Half an hour, I was within viewing distance of the mining town. It looked like most other towns on planets in this part of the galaxy, drab, worn down and flooded with crime and disease. I slowly approached the town gate, nothing out of the ordinary yet. It quickly hit me, I still had my gun drawn, and smart citizen would quickly draw arms against someone attempting to enter a town with a high powered assault rifle. I quickly stashed my Maklov A6 behind some rocks and proceeded to enter the town. It was barren, and might as well have been deserted, were it not for the occasional townsfolk found roaming the sidewalks. I saw what looked to be an Inn, and entered inside. "What can I get'cha?" A voice came from behind a counter from what must have been the bartender, and only person in the joint from what I could tell. "Erm, nothing thanks" I replied, "But can you tell me if you've seen a group of about 4 people enter this town about an Hour and a Half ago?". The Bartenders eyes narrowed "Can't say I have, but let me get you a drink, on the house" he said. "No thanks" I replied, turning around. BANG. A shot whizzed by my skull. I quickly hit the ground, avoiding the flurry of rounds that followed. "What the he-". BANG. A few more shots flew by. I quickly dodged the next few rounds, jumping behind a table. He seemed to be using some sort of primitive shotgun, pre-collective era, by the sound of it. I quickly made my way closer after each shot, eventually making it close enough to make my move. I quickly jumped over the counter, hitting the bartender square in the face. Getting knocked off guard, he quickly raised his weapon, ready to fire off another round. I knocked the weapon out of his hands, and quickly overtook him in a flurry of kicks and punches, eventually sending him into Unconsciousness, after my last punch to the head. I grabbed his shotgun off from the floor. I read "Remington 870" off the side of the gun. I laughed a little inside, this thing didn't even have a chance of piercing my armor anyhow.

I quickly reloaded it with rounds I found under the counter. I headed outside, expecting a crowd or law enforcement agencies of some kind to be outside. What I found was about 10 Soldiers, packing what looked to be Archaic Scoped Bolt-Action rifles. Before I had a chance to react, 3 darts hit my left arm and leg, sending me into a dizzy, euphoric state. "Tranqs" I thought to myself before falling unconscious.

END part 3 


End file.
